Free ANGEL: When Angels Cry by CJ Bishop

renewed
urgency, his own body tightening, straining, as the cum pushed up
through his cock then burst inside the man.
    “Uuuhh!! Fuuuck!” Dane choked on the strangled wail,
slamming into Max with hard, short pumps, giving the man everything
he possessed. “Oh fuck! Yes…” He thrust at him until the orgasm
released its hold and a sudden bout of exhaustion overwhelmed him.
“Oh my god…” he gasped hard and fell onto the bed beside Max.
    His eyes closed, Max’s hands pressed against
his heaving chest, breath puffing from his parted lips. When he
finally twisted his head and looked at Dane, his eyes were damp. “I
don’t know how to do it anymore.” He whispered, his words thick,
unsteady.
    “Do what?” Dane murmured.
    Max stared at him for a moment then slowly
turned his head and stared at the ceiling. His throat worked
against his emotions, tears thickening in his eyes, sliding down
his temples. “Pretend that…I can live without him.” He looked at
Dane again, warm tears pouring out. “Almost twenty years…I’ve been
telling myself I’m okay, I don’t need him. But every day…” He bit
his lip as fresh tears formed. “Every fucking day, I wake up with this
hole in my chest, like…my heart was ripped out.” He licked his lips
slowly and swallowed thickly as he shook his head, breath breaking
up his throat. “And it hurts, Dane.” He closed his eyes, chin
trembling as he curled his arm over his face. “It hurts so fucking
bad.”
    Dane pulled the man into his arms and held
him tight, his hand cupped gently at the back of his head. He
kissed his hair and let him cry.
    Almost twenty years? What the hell could have
happened between him and Kaplan that was so bad it spanned nearly
two decades and continued to keep them apart?
     
    ***
     
    “Here.” Angel handed the folded bills to
Wade. He watched the guy unfold the money and count it out.
    “Three hundred bucks.” He nodded. “Now we’re
getting somewhere.” He looked at Angel. “Keep this up and you won’t
have to take side jobs.” He shrugged and smirked. “Although it
would be that much extra cash.”
    “Wade, you said…”
    “Yeah, yeah.” Wade held up his hand to ward
off any whining . “Fine. You keep the cash flowing in, and
I’ll keep my word.” Axel reached across the table for a couple of
the bills and Wade smacked his hand hard.
    “Fuck!” Axel jerked his hand back. “Come on,
Wade. It isn’t just yours.”
    Wade jabbed a finger at him. “You’ll get what
I decide to give you, and not a fucking cent more. You don’t do
shit. I’m the one who has been setting up the gigs from the start,
dealing with assholes who want too much of a cut. You just sit back
and reap the benefits. So yes , it is all mine until I deem otherwise. Got it?”
    Axel nodded and grumbled, “Yeah, I got
it.”
    They made Angel think of Jackals, scuffling
over a carcass. He left the kitchen as Wade recounted the cash, and
went to the bedroom. Maddy was in bed. Trying to be quiet, Angel
closed the door softly and walk to his bed that consisted of a
single old sleeping bag and his bare pillow. He slipped off his
shoes and undressed down to his shorts and a t-shirt then crawled
onto the mattress and sat with his back against the wall, watching
Maddy sleep.
    He drew his legs up and hugged his knees, and
tried to contemplate what had happened on stage that evening. He
understood the source of his panic, but didn’t know why it was
flaring up again after having no episodes for almost a year.
    His stepbrothers’ laughter reached the
bedroom, pushing through the closed door. Angel tried to imagine a
day when those voices would be eradicated from his and Maddy’s
lives for good. So many nights, he had thought about taking Maddy
and just running away. But Wade wasn’t so stupid as not to know
Angel loved his little brother enough to want to get him out of
there. He’d made his threats, early on. Told Angel if they tried to
run away, he would find